Sunder Archipelago
'Sunder Archipelago '''is a completely isolated island in Jiolia located directly south of Barbaros and west of Coroza. Though called an archipelago, it is in actuality just two separate islands that are seemingly side by side from one another. Until X780, it had no affiliation to any of the neighbouring countries and was considered a neutral area, notable for being a dangerous zone with powerful and rare magic creatures inhabiting the island. However, a that went by the name of Wild Cage surfaced and took complete control of the island, capturing and selling every rare creature found to either Barbaros or Coroza for a profit. The only magic creatures left that were narrowly able to avoid being captured were the Astreith race who have now declared themselves as the sworn enemies of Wild Cage and have been attempting to release those who were captured. The island plays an important role in the story, Fairy Tail: Eternal Dreams due to the fact that it is the first of the many eventual locations that the series' protagonist, Veldora Tempest explores and where he meets two of his most trusted companions. Description Geography Sunder Archipelago is a combination of two small Islands that are mostly covered in grasslands along with mountain ranges. The northern and western terrain of Sunder Archipelago is where most of the grassland covers the island, whereas the center alongside the south side is where most of the mountains come into view. Weather change is a natural occurrence on Sunder Archipelago, as those who have lived on the islands long enough have experienced all four seasons; Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. Unlike the other islands residing in the continent of Jiolia that all fall under the jurisdiction of a form of affiliated government, Sunder Archipelago is completely unaffiliated and does not belong to any faction, making it a neutral zone. Adding on to that, not many tourists visit Sunder Archipelago for this exact reason as the island isn’t supported by any form of government funding, therefore is quite behind in terms of technology and usage of new and improved devices. In terms of size and radius, Sunder Archipelago is a fairly average sized island reaching a total diameter of twenty five hundred meters. Because the size of the island is small, it's not a surprise that the population of those who reside on it are also in the minority and the number of residents on the island would at best be around six thousand. Located at the center of the island is the tallest landscape on Sunder Archipelago along with the central village where most of the humans who live on the island dwell; Brightstone Village. Numerous magical creatures used to inhabit the island and were prone to attack the unfortified village, which often resulted in heavy damages due to the lack of mages with sufficient skill in hoarding them off. However, this all changed after Wild Cage had taken complete control of the island and captured any and all magial creatures that were considered valuable. Those that were not captured were either mercilessly cut down or “extracted” of their fur alongside their magic that could be used to strengthen the members of Wild Cage. It’s due to Wild Cage's disregard for others that have made those who live on Sunder Archipelago disgusted with them but are too afraid to step up; less they have a death wish. History The islands history can be traced back to several decades before the current government of Jiolia was established but for the main part mostly remains a secret and is shrouded in mystery. The mountains that have become the trademark of the islands allure were said to have been created by a powerful Mage who used his magic to sculpt the mountains out of a desire to see the top of the world. In a history book found on the island, it is stated that there was once an established government that Sunder Archipelago used to employ. However, that government didn’t last very long and crumbled over the next generation due to the lack of proper leadership of its ruler and ever since then there has been no official type of monarchy on the island. Despite not being run by a country like Barbaros or Coroza and prospering over their funding, Sunder Archipelago has surprisingly done well for itself over the past decades and it has become self-sufficient in terms of functioning as a proper living island. There's no royalty among Sunder Archipelago and because of that, there is no blatant discrimination, which in turn has led to the people of the island to be mostly united unlike other countries (such as Barbaros) that are conflicted among the peasants and royalty. The Incident The Incident (which is what the inhabitants of the island have come to call it) is a dreadful and nightmarish event that would occur on the island, creating a sea of fear and panic to all those who resided on Sunder Archipelago. In the year X777, an enormous stampede of magical creatures suddenly went berserk and began wreaking havoc among the numerous villages. For whatever reason, the creatures that ,while where aggressive beforehand would not attack humans unless provoked, attacked anyone and anything that got in their way, as if they were being manipulated. The aftermath of their onslaught resulted in several dozen villages being utterly wiped out alongside the poor hundreds of slaughtered victims, many of whom had left children orphaned. Terrified, thousands of citizens fled to Brightstone Village for protection, a location that was well guarded due to the mountains surrounding the village. The village elders had sent numerous requests out to neighboring countries to provide assistance in subjugating the crazed animals and fortunately, a guild had been sent to eliminate any creatures that were considered dangerous. With their assistance, the magical creatures were quelled and the inhabitants of Sunder Archipelago could rest easy knowing their prayers had been answered. However, the damage had already been done and several children lost their parents and loved ones in the aftermath, including Evander Linguis who was be traumatized by the event and developed a subconscious hatred towards magical creatures. This hatred would then lead Evan to forming the hunter guild known as Wild Cage whose sole purpose was to rid the island of any and all magical creatures that were left on Sunder Archipelago. Strength As mentioned above, Sunder Archipelago has no military to speak of due to its lack of being an affiliated country and there, is considered extremely vulnerable if attacked by an outside party. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Sunder Archipelago can be considered a relatively weak country and would be a simple task to be conquered for countries wanting to expand their territory. Interestingly enough, despite all of these factors stacked against it, Sunder Archipelago has still remained a neutral zone and prior to X780, has yet to be taken over which no doubt raises questions on how it could survive so long without a military. It’s only thanks to the combined efforts of both and Sunder Archipleago’s ferocious magical creatures that have kept pursuers away from the islands. However, that has all changed as a result of the war between Barbaros and Coroza which led to an organization using the wildfire known as war too take over the archipelago, the dark guild known as Wild Cage. After Wild Cage had taken over in the year X780, all of the mercenary guilds that were frequently requested were crushed one by one after attempting to assist the inhabitants of Sunder Archipelago and eventually, Wild Cage became the new authority on the island. On the topic of Wild Cage, they aren’t affiliated with either countries specifically and sell goods (consisting of rare magic creatures) to either f them for a profit. Because Wild Cage does not fight for the people but are considered it's only source of power, they are despised for their indifference but also feared for their power. Notable Locations Brightstone Village Brightstone Village can be considered the capital of Sunder Archipelago because the majority of residents on the island have taken residence within its borders. Unlike most (if not all) villages on the island, Brightstone is the only one surrounded entirely by mountains on all directions which act as a sort of “barrier” for protecting the citizens from the dangerous beasts that roam the island. The entrance to the village is a large hole located at the bottom of one of the mountains that connects Brightstone to the outside forest. When discussing the management of the village, the village runs on a chief system where a chief is selected among the suitable candidates that apply for the position and rotate the cycle every three years. The responsibilities of the chief include things such as managing the population and being in charge of the yearly harvest, along with construction of houses and facilities. The town itself is built like any other normal village with lodgings and storerooms that contain the town’s goods and supplies. The only race that dwells within the borders of Brightstone Village is the human race and it's because of that reason that it's become such a huge target for magical creatures that have marked humans as their favorite of delicacies. There are a small handful of magicians that live within the borders of Brightstone but unfortunately, their level of skill and training is far from sufficient enough to hold off the magical creatures that plague the town. In fact, the lack of properly trained magicians was the main reason that the village chief constantly sent out requests to other countries for them to send powerful mages to aid them in their plight. This of course, ceased being the case once Wild Cage had taken over Sunder Archipelago and the numerous magical creatures that roamed freely on the island were all captured and sold, earning the people’s temporary trust until Wild Cage had began their reign of terror over the island for the next several years. Rising Mountain live .]]Rising Mountain, consisting of several ridiculously tall mountains, isn’t just a fascinating attraction sight but also used as the Astreith’s tribe’s living quarters. Of all the mountains located on Sunder Archipelago, Rising Mountain is by far the largest and it's due to this reason that the leader of the Astreith’s, Blow chose this specific location as the new base for his clan. Ever since Wild Cage took control of Sunder Archipelago, Blow and the other Astreith’s have been trying their best to escape the organization that began its hunt for are magical creatures in the year X785 and have been able to avoid capture for the past five years because of Blow’s leadership. This “cat and mouse” chase caused the Astreith Tribe to realize that always being on the run wasn’t going to work and opted them to hide within the rocky terrain of Rising Mountain which did an excellent job of throwing of Wild Cage’s tracks. Being mentioned earlier, Rising Mountain is essentially one large mountain surrounded by numerous smaller mountains that help conceal those that dwell within it. Blow and the Astreith’s use their mobility and enhanced strength to carve out secret passageways within the mountains, making it extremely difficult for anyone who isn’t familiar with the terrain to navigate. In addition to that, numerous traps have been laid out around the mountains which boost their defensive capabilities so the Astreith tribe have no reason to feel terrified against the overwhelming power of Wild Cage. The densities of the rocks that make up the mountains are incredibly durable and also make it a perfect training spot for Blow and his tribe to use their Astrella. Mystic Lake A mysterious but also charming lake that has existed on Sunder Archipelago for many decades. The lake is exceptionally large and covers a vast amount of distance that stretches for miles on end, separating several villages from forests. The main allure of Mystic Lake is the beautiful and serene surroundings that enhance its beauty such as the blowing grasslands and trees that surround the lake and give it a summer like feeling. In addition to that, another factor that contributes to the lake’s mysterious charm is the fog that appears every so often and covers the entire lake, as if someone were wrapping a white veil around it. With that all said however, the level of danger the island possesses is still present even here and those that visit the lake are vulnerable to be attacked by the dwelling magical creatures. There have also been rumors of individuals disappearing when people get too close to the lake during the time where a thick fog covers the lake. Regardless, Mystic Lake is still able to draw in those who are captivated by its allure and cannot help themselves from risking the danger to see the beauty of the lake up close. The water that fills the lake is a very high quality those who are said to have drank from its contents have been “blessed’ with a divinity of the sea god that has become a symbol for the villagers (of course, there are nothing but pure baseless assumptions). Blow and the Astreith’s constantly visit the lake and gather their water source from its contents; though they have to be careful as Wild Cage have began patrolling the lake due to the rumors of the mysterious disappearances. Speaking of Wild Cage, ever since they seized control of Sunder Archipelago, the danger level of Mystic Lake has dropped significantly and villagers aren’t as afraid to visit the lake as they once were before X780. Back on the matter of Blow and his tribe, they have used the lake’s unnatural fog to their advantage when escaping from Wild Cage who aren’t willing to risk getting lost within the contents of the fog to chase after Blow and his followers. A ritual that many people dwelling on Sunder Archipelago practice is that they bring their newborn children to the lake and bathe them in the water, letting the “divinity” of the lake wash over them. This practice has been officially been banned as of recently due to Wild Cage’s intervention and speculation that there is a powerful magical creature living within the lake. Wild Station ''For further information: Wild Cage. The Wild Station is the living quarters of the Wild Cage organization and their main base of operations where most of their members reside. The base is composed of several buildings that were built around surrounding a section of open grassland with an open river and in the center is a large building that acts as the strategy room where the boss along with the top executive members reside in. Their subordinates take the separate buildings around the main house and are prohibited from entering the strategy room without permission. The Wild Station (which was called so due to its familiarity with the term itself) is heavily guarded and possesses the most apparent military strength on the entirety of Sunder Archipelago. Though, considering that the island isn’t affiliated with any country and lacks a proper military of their own, it doesn’t say much. Evan, the leader of Wild Cage went to great lengths towards funding the station to ensure the creatures captured could be “preserved” properly. Comfort was also a factor in finishing the design of the station and he tried to give not only himself but also those serving under him a comfortable place to live, hence the expensive looking furniture found within the main building. A funny fact about the construction of the Wild Station was that Camille, one Evander’s executives urgently requested her own private quarters with a fully furnished room and a hot spring due to the woman’s selfishness, which of course was initially shot down by Evan. However, sometime later those facilities were actually built after a staggering amount of funds came into their possession after discovering a rare and powerful race located on Sunder Archipelago. In terms of size, the station covers roughly one-fifth of the entirety of the island and stretches from one point of the island near the mountains to the opposite district near the ocean. This was specifically built by Evan because he wanted a clear view of the island so that he could react immediately to any unforeseen situation that could occur. There are two watchtowers near the entrance of the station that allow members of Wild Cage to see most of the villages in the east and west district. The Wild Station’s overall effectiveness is a result of the great leadership of their boss who had enough foresight to build such a facility that could act as not only just an assault camp but also as a fortress. Edea Forest Edea Forest is a large and mystifying forest that exists between Brightstone Village and Mystic Lake and has a history that dates back several years before Wild Cage had taken over the island. According to one of the elders, a powerful magician of the same calibre as the one who created Rising Mountain fell madly in love with a forest creature and in order to win her heart, used his magic to create the forest that is now known as Edea. His desire to woo her over was so strong that the forest stretched for miles and he continued to do so, fully prepared to cover the entire island in trees until she accepted his feelings. The forest creature was reluctant at first but eventually submitted to the man’s endless devotion and she gave him her love that he so desperately craved, eternally thanking him for creating such a place for her. These stories have been told to the children who live in Sunder Archipelago and it has become quite a popular child’s fairy tale. The trees that inhabit the forest are ridiculously lengthy (like the mountains) and stretch for miles on end, nearly reaching the ocean on the opposite side of the island. Because the trees are so tall and lengthy, it is a perfect hiding spot for those that are terrified and want to run away from Wild Cage’s ruthless hunt of magical creatures. When speaking of vegetation and nutrition, the forest provides numerous fruits such as apples, grapes, and special mushrooms that are delicious and serve as a great resource for the villager’s yearly harvest. Like Mystic Lake, there are rumours spreading around the island that there are monsters that live within the context of the forest but after Wild Cage had subjugated the entire forest, those rumors were quelled and the forest has become noticeably quitter. Despite this, there are still a few remaining creatures that dwell within the Edea Forest aside from Blow and the Astreith’s but have gone into hiding to desperately escape Wild Cage. The forest’s beauty and elegance are second to none when compared to that of the everlasting charm of Mystic Lake, which is what the magician who crafted it wanted to go for when he attempted to impress the love of his life. Because the soil of the forest is so rich and fulfilling, it has become a great supply chain for those growing crops and with the sun’s reflection being apparent trough the summer months, the villagers have never needed to worry about their crops drying or freezing before the harvest. Interestingly enough, it is possible to get lost within the forest as it has numerous fork paths that can lead a person through a “maze” of sorts and requires someone with enough experience walking through the Edea forest. Trivia *As mentioned above, even though its called an "Archipelago", its actually just two separate islands side by side one another. Category:Jiolia Category:Island Category:Locations